Columbia to Sail Again at Disneyland

The sailing ship ride that claimed a Disneyland tourist’s life, prompting moves to regulate California theme parks, returned to its channel Friday for the first time since the Christmas Eve accident.

For several hours, the Columbia circled Tom Sawyer Island while employees on board practiced new docking procedures and other safety steps before the ride officially takes passengers on Monday.

Overhauled cosmetically and structurally, with new signal bells and a speedometer for safety, the Columbia will resume its role as a backup attraction for the Mark Twain steamship on days when the park is packed.

The Mark Twain, also out of commission since December for a structural overhaul and boiler replacement, returned to full service Friday. Both ships run on a submerged rail in the “Rivers of America” canal.

The accident that killed a Duvall, Wash., man, and severely injured his wife and a park worker produced major changes in Disneyland safety procedures and in the attitudes of state lawmakers toward the theme-park industry.

Disneyland reevaluated safety procedures on all rides after the accident, which occurred when an assistant manager filling in for a ride operator put a mooring line on the 212-ton Columbia as it approached a dock too fast. The line ripped loose a metal mooring cleat from the ship’s bow and hurtled it into a line of people waiting to board.

In the following months, Disneyland shredded its old procedures for Columbia and created a system in which the captain and a bow worker signal each other with bells to ensure the ship has stopped at the dock. Only then does the bow worker drop a line over the side of the ship, and the dock worker can put it on the cleat only after also hearing the signal bells.